Derrick-truck



E. HOLMES.

DERRICK TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.26| i920.

E. HOLMES.

DERRICK TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.26. 1920.

1,359,378, Patented Nov. 16,' 1920.

IME@

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DERRICK-TRUCK.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led January 26, 1920. Serial No. 354,027.

To all whom it may concern.'

lie it known that I, ERNEST HOLMES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Derrick-Trucks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in derrick trucks of the general type disclosed in my reissued Letters Patent No. 14,720 of September 2, 1919. Such type of derrick truck is characterized bythe provision of a pair of booms located in juxtaposition at opposite sides of the truck and each coperating with a hoisting cable.

More particularly, the invention consists in the mounting of the booms whereby either or both of them may be reversed and positioned at various angles for anchorage or bracing purposes and whereby one may be used as a lateral brace in ooperation with the other positioned athwart the truck for the purpose of loading. Such inversion of the booms will be of value in many instances, in facilitating the loading or analogous operations, particularly in those situations wherein it may not be practical to use one of the cables as a guy in themanner disclosed in my said Letters Patent.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of the improved truck showing by dot-and-dash lines the use of one of the booms as a brace and the coperating use, for loading purposes, of the other boom.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same showing another instance of the use of one of the booms as a brace. v

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts in both of the views.

The derrickstructure is mounted upon an automobile truck and is preferably supported by a cross-beam 15 secured to the chassis. The frame of the derrick structure consists of suitably braced upright posts 13 and 14 mounted on said beam adjacent the opposite sides of the truck. l

The derrick structure includes a pair of booms 21, one associated with each post; and each boom is mounted for pivotal movement about both vertical and horizontal axes. In the construction shown and preferred, the posts are utilized as the vertical pivotal centers of the booms, and for this purpose, the booms are connected at their lower ends to supporting elements, e. g. sleeves 20 rotatably fitted upon the respect1ve posts and normally having their, seating upon shoulders 22. The connections 1. be-

tween the booms 21 and sleeves 20 include f i '54 for regulating the movements of the load.

The cables 54 normally depend beyond the rear end of the truck, preferably. by having the booms 21 from whose ends said cables are guided of such length that they project beyond the rear. end of the truck.

The booms 21 are provided near their free ends with apertured laterally projecting llugs 64 for coperation with a locking bolt Patented Nov. i6, 1920.

are also coperating companions. I

or pin 66 engageable through the apertures of said lugs for the purpose ofpreventing4 the booms from swinging laterally from their normal operative position incident to the connection of the cables 54 to the load in tow. At the rear end of the truck a couplmg head.. 69 is provided for connection to the vehicle in tow, the said coupling head' being suitably constructed to prevent lateral voscillation of the vehicle in tow and beingadaptable to the elevation at which the front end of said vehicle may be supported. The coupling head, as shown and preferred, is of the construction which forms the subject of my co-pending application Serial No.

370,257, filed March 3, 1920.

In the construction disclosed each of the .posts 13 and 14 includes a hollow upper section 40 through which the cables 54 and 55 are led, the section 40 having in its side an opening` 41 and having adjacent said opening cable guide pulleys 49. A bracket 48 is revolubly litted in the upper end of each of the posts 13 and 14. said bracket having a hollow gudfreon which is journaled in the ,section 40. The bracket 48 carries guide therebyl tojenable the pulley 53 to turn about removably j ournaled in the end of the boom,

the boom as a pivotal axis in order to compensate for the sway or drag of the load relatively to the boom. In connection with the operation of extricating a damaged automobile,L the truck frame is preferably braced relatively to the ground by stabilizing .jacks 80. These may depend from the ends of the beam 15 and conveniently comprise telescopic sections, one of which f or en agement with the ground is lengthwise adjustable relative to the other whereby it.

may be normally supported at a suitable elevation above the ground or lowered to engage the ground and secured in its lowered position. The jack at the right of Fi 1 is shown in engagement with the groun while the jack at the left of said figure is shown in its normal relation. j

The drawings disclose an arrangement of cable drums and controlling gearing which forms the subject of my co-pending application Serial No. 370,257 and which, therefore, neednot be described in any detail. It is sulicient to point out that thel cables 54 and 55 of each pair are trained over .a companion pair of drums 98 and 99, it being immaterial which cable is wound u n a particular drum, and that said j rums are mounted on parallel longitudinal shafts 100 which are sup. orted between side plates .101 secured to .or orming parts of the beam 15. The drum operating gearing includes a transverse shaft 82 which, to enable its ro-l .tatlon in either direction, is connected by suitable reversing gearing (not shown) to the longitudinal driving shaft (not shown) relatively to the shaft 82. vIn this way, the

operation of each drum may be'controlled independently of the others, thereby to .insure the most certain controlandregulation of the action of the booms and the lifting `cables in any of the operations for whic the truck may be used.

According to the invention, the sleeves 20 are slidably mounted on the respective posts 13 and 14 and are movable between 1m1ts whlch are prescribed by the shoulders 22 vbefore* mentioned and b 22a near the upper ends ofY sleeves are preferably freely movable along sa1d posts and their movement from the lower to the upper position provides for the inversion of t e corresponding boom.

Such inversion of either jof the booms may be utilized under certain circumstances to facilitate the operation of extricating the damaged automobile from the location in other shoulders lIn' my Reissue Patent 'ner as in Fig. 1 but the posts. Saidl which it may be ditchedl and of bringing such automobile into osition for towing.

o. 14,720 of September 2, 1919, I have described the use of one of the hoisting cables as a guy, thereby to prevent any tilting of the truck as an incident of the lifting and swinging of the load by the boom 21 and, cable 54 at the opposite side. In some situations, this may not be practical or possible, and it is in such contingency that the capacity of either of the booms for inversion becomes of value; The capacity of the booms for inversion and for use as braces will also be of value in various other cases where the manipulation of the load may be facilitated by operating either or both of the hoisting cables directly from the ends of the respective posts. This will be evidenced by Fig. 1 which shows by dotand-dash lines the sleeve 20 of the boom at the right in its elevated. position bearing against the shoulder 22, and the boom itself inclined diagonally downward and engaging the ground as a base. Such inversion of the boom, of course, presupposes the disconnection therefrom of the boom-operating cable '55 and of the guide bracket 51 and pulley 53 of the hoisting c able. For these pur oses, the cable 55 has at its free end a hoo 55a which is engaged with an e e provided at the free end of the boom and t e bracket 51 is freely removable in the endwise v direction from the boom, its gudgeon being loosely sotketed in the end of the boom. When the boom at the right is thus inverted and used as a ground-en aging brace, as shown, the manipulation o the load may be effected either by the associated hoisting cable 54 which is operated directly from the end of the post 14-01' bythe cable 54 ofthe other boom, which latter is moved athwart the truck to project from the same side thereof as the inverted boom. Obviously,

the boom at the left may be similarly in-v verted and used as a brace, and its associated hoisting cable operated directly from the;

post 13, or alternatively, the'boom at4 the right may be positioned athwart the truck and its hoisting cable used for the manipulation of the load.

Fig. 2 shows anotherinstance of the use of a boom as a brace, that is to say, it shows one of the booms inverted in the same manositioned to project rearward instead of aterally-thereby to hold the truck against retrograde movement. Both of the booms may be simultaneously used in the manner shows in Fig. 2; and

either or both of the booms may be similarly used but arran ed to project in the forward direction, there y to prevent the truck from forward* movement.

Where both of the booms are thus used as braces, both of the hoisting cables are available for the manipulation of the load and may'be simultaneously operated directly from their respective posts.

Having fully described my invention, I claim l. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a truck, a pair of juxtaposed booms mounted at opposite sides of the truck for lateral swinging movement beyond or athwart the truck, lifting cables associated with said booms, and vertically adjustable supporting elements to which said booms are pivoted and which, as raised, provide for the inversion of said booms for use as ground-engaging braces.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a truck, a Vertical post mounted on said truck, an element adjustable lengthwise of said post, a boom pivoted to said element as a support, the latter as raised providing for the inversion of said boom for use as a ground-engaging brace, and apair of cables trained over the post, one cable being detachably connected to the free end of said boom and the other cable being detachably trained over saidl free end.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a truck, a vertical post mounted on said truck and provided with upper and lower shoulders, a sleeve slidable on said post between said shoulders and normally resting on thelower shoulder, a boom pivoted to said sleeve as a support, the latter as raised providing for the inversion of said boom for use asa ground-engaging brace, and a pair of cables trained over the post, one cable being detachably connected to the free end of said boom and the other cable being detachably trained over said free end.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. ERNEST HOLMES.

Witnesses:

S. BARToW STRANG, BETTY BLooKER. 

